In court, one is said to be "innocent until proven guilty." However, innocence can be taken away without trial. In the novel Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, a six-year-old boy named Antonio Márez is about to start school when Ultima, an old healer, comes to stay with him and his family. Antonio's father is a former Vaquero and his mother is very Catholic. When Antonio's uncle Lucas is cursed by the Turpentine sisters, he becomes seriously ill and is close to death. Ultima, Lucas' last hope for survival, is able to cure him. However, the sisters' father, Tenorio, believes that it is Ultima's magic that is now slowly killing his daughters. Tenorio sets out to kill Ultima, which results in multiple tragic deaths. Throughout the story, Antonio learns a lot about himself, his beliefs, and the people around him. Bless Me, Ultima uses Antonio's obstacles to illustrate that as one grows older, his innocence is destroyed; however, it is replaced with knowledge, understanding and maturity. Witnessing Lupito's death proves that Antonio's impeccability is tarnished, but he is filled with new knowledge. On a dark night, when Antonio secretly follows his father onto the bridge, he describes the scene; “He looked at me and his face was wet with water and warm blood was flowing… The men were already running to the end of the bridge to get out and claim the man whose dead hands dug into the soft, wet sand in front of him . me” (Anaya 22). Witnessing a death at such a young age is very difficult to accept and Antonio is traumatized by what he saw. Antonio realizes that he is no longer exempt from the punishments he could receive for having sinned. Seek to understand the world through religion; however he is unsuccessful... middle of paper... has a new understanding of the world. Bless Me, Ultima uses the struggles Antonio faces and the deaths he encounters to show that innocence is destroyed as one grows older, but is replaced with experience that brings maturity and wisdom. Antonio's loss of innocence was demonstrated through the deaths of Lupito, Narciso, Florence, and most importantly, Ultima. As Antonio has matured, he has discovered new understandings and knowledge that will guide him for the rest of his life. Antonio has discovered that he can decide for himself and is no longer a child. Therefore, one must be aware that losing one's innocence is an important part of life. When innocence is lost, a newfound maturity is triggered. It is essential to understand that a trial is not necessary to lose one's innocence, but with this loss comes responsibility, wisdom and understanding.